Chris Lanier's Blog : Media Center Show

I’m on The Media Center Show

chrisl — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:19:00 GMT

A few weeks ago I did an interview with Ian Dixon for The Media Center Show. We covered everything from CableCARD, to the TV Pack, to Windows 7. The interview is a bit short on substance and time in my opinion (my fault completely), but I hope to do another with Ian (and hopefully some of the new Media Center podcasters out there) in the near future.

Last week Ian also pointed to Ben Drawbaugh post on why the TV Pack was released as OEM only, and much of the TV Pack talk in the interview plays around the same basic concepts. The TV Pack worked well for some and added some cool features, but given the issues and what it broke I think Microsoft could have handled the release in a much different fashion.

One of the things I didn’t get to in the interview that I wanted to was some of the new features of the Windows 7. I think most of these have been covered great by other blogs (as I’ve been extremely busy for the past month or so), but maybe as Windows 7 gets closer to release Ian and I can do another show.

Short Bits: Zune Mobile, Home Servers, TV Pack, More

chrisl — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 21:15:00 GMT

Remember when I said you would hear more about Zune on mobile phones before the years end? Well, now you have. “Zune software will also be ported to and be more important not just with the hardware but on the PC, on Windows Mobile devices, etc.," said Steve Ballmer.

Missing Remote has had a few great articles over the past few weeks including a Battle of the Windows Home Server Systems and a letter to Microsoft about what is going on with Media Center. The article ends with a note to Microsoft asking for them to “go back to the drawing board and re-think the Media Center product: its future as a product, the viability of the strategy of having it tossed into random Windows versions, and goals for the technologies that make up Windows Media Center.”

Last month Ed Bott wrote the best article ever on the Media Center platform. He covered several issues but mainly focused on the TV Pack and all of the issues that happened behind the scenes. I didn’t get to post about it when he first published it, but I have to get it out there because Ed really did a fantastic job with the article.

PC Mag has an “unofficial” Guide to the TV Pack including installation instructions just in case you happen to find it online somewhere.

I’ll be a guest on The Media Center Show before year’s end, but that shouldn’t stop you from waiting until then to listen to Ian’s other weekly podcasts. Hear about Open Media Library (OML) from David Shulitz and CEA Mark Of Excellence Awards with Roland Graham.

Short Bits: CableCARD, Media Center Show

chrisl — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:42:00 GMT

Ed Bott has a great post on why CableCARD will never be mainstream. Not only is the process of getting a CableCARD and having it paired a problem, but the lack of troubleshooting information (or rather the need for troubleshooting at all) on the PC side of things means CableCARD is likely to never to mainstream. Ed’s suggestion to fix this is transition Media Center to a standalone STB type system (which is everyones solution to everything). I’m not sure that would fix the issues with CableCARD, but the transition away from the standard PC is a whole different topic.

On this week’s Media Center Show Ian Dixon has Microsoft’s Kevin Collins talking about all the news from CEDIA, and Intel's Greg Schlechter who serves as a director of the newly announced Media Center Integrators Alliance.

Hurricane on the way!

Short Bits: Storage Pack, CE Pro, Media Center Show, More

chrisl — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:54:00 GMT

Microsoft is planning to release a Storage Feature Pack for Windows that will include Blu-ray mastering support among other things. Sadly this is still very far from Blu-ray Playback support which has its own set of issues.

CE Pro has had a number of Media Center posts gearing up for CEDIA. Julie says that Microsoft’s focus at CEDIA will be the custom integrator channel and not so much on the OEM only TV Pack. I know a lot of people are waiting for CEDIA because they think Microsoft is going to drop some big news about DIRECTV being included or something like that, but that is not going to happen. Everyone knows what is in the TV Pack, and there are not going to be any surprises. On the same topic it looks like Microsoft and partners might be planning a “Media Center Integrator Alliance,” which I’m sure we will hear about in the next two weeks.

Ian Dixon has had Ed Bott and Scott Bahneman, CEO of MusicGiants on The Media Center Show. I was able to catch a few minutes of the Ed Bott interview when it was on live and agree with a lot of the concepts that he was talking about. After CEDIA I will have more posts on the TV Pack.

Not sure how much I’ve highlighted some of the newer Media Center blogs that have popped up over the past few months, so here are a few that everyone might be interested in (sorry if I missed any). Olcay Buyan’s Blog, My Network Project, and Entertainment 2.0.

Short Bits: Fiji, Media Center Show, Olympics

chrisl — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:31:00 GMT

Mary Jo Foley covers the mess that has been Fiji. I’ll have more soon, but Fiji will go down in history as one of the worst coordinated projects to come out of Microsoft in a long time.

On this week’s Media Center Show Ian Dixon has Automated Home's Mark McCall talking Home Sever, Media Center, and of course, home automation.

This is the first time the Olympics is making a big splash online, and if you have followed any of the press around it there are a lot of players involved this year. Microsoft is clearly one of the top partners showing they have Olympics coverage on Media Center, Xbox, Zune, and more. I find it odd that you are going to have to pay for access on Xbox and Zune content on a per episode basis. Why not just give it away like you are on Media Center and other Microsoft/NBC web properties?

Short Bits: SDV, HP TocuhSmart, Media Center Show

chrisl — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:25:00 GMT

Missing Remote has had several great articles and review this week including an article on SDV and what it means to your CableCARD PC. In addition to that Mike reviewed TVTonic for Media Center and D-Link’s DSM-330 DivX Connected Extender (non Media Center Extender).

Ian Dixon got one of the new HP TouchSmart panels to play with and gives his first impressions and an unboxing video. If you haven’t had a chance to use one of these new panels yet I’d run out and try and find one locally setup in-store. It is a great PC and the fact that it doubles as a touchpanel makes it even more worth the already cheap $1200 price tag.

On this week’s Media Center Show Ian had on newcomer to the Media Center scene Ben Drawbaugh of Engadget HD fame. Covered in the show are various topics on home automation and Media Center Extenders.

I’m on The Media Center Show

chrisl — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:49:00 GMT

Last month I did a special live edition of The Media Center Show with Ian Dixon, and today the podcast is ready for download. It was great to finally get back with Ian, so I hope everyone gives it a listen. Just ignore me stumbling over the word “Blu-ray” every five seconds. My apparent inability to talk mixed with some horrible allergies that I was trying to get over led to some interesting fumbles.

Anyway, be sure to listen to The Media Center Show #154 for the whole thing.

Short Bits: DVR-MStoWMV, Media Center Show, DSM-750

chrisl — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:35:00 GMT

Public release of DVRMStoWMVHD is up, very cool simple program to convert DVR-MS files to WMV.

Ian Dixon has the latest Media Center Show out today, this week it features Dave Evans talking about home theater.

Amazon has the D-Link DSM-750 finally available, although it is a bit pricey at $315. In contrast Buy.com has it for $270 (though sold out). Now Direct (who I have never heard of) has it for $250. Also check Reseller Ratings before making a purchase from an online retailer that you wouldn’t heard of.

Looks like Blockbuster might be doing a stream set-top box too. I hope that it’s not true, because the last thing people want to buy is another STB. Why don’t companies understand this? With a stack full of components, many of which can be updated to serve such functionality (like the PS3 or Xbox 360) the last thing I’m buying is another STB. Other platforms, like Media Center (and Extenders) and TiVo are others to look at that. (Via Engadget)

Short Bits: On10, Media Center Show, More

chrisl — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:58:00 GMT

On10 has video interviews with Autonomic Controls as well as Cannon PC that were posted this week. Cannon PC has even stepped up and now is a Microsoft OEM so they can offer CableCARD.

Ian Dixon has a new Media Center Show with Charlie Owen and special guest Ted Singh of Embedded Automation. Ted is on with a short interview about their new in-wall touchscreen, and Charlie as always is on with development news and platform highlights.

I’m trying out some new things in regards to authoring HD DVD and Blu-ray Discs that I hope to post on later. For instance, did you know that you don’t need an HD DVD or Blu-ray Burner to burn HD content? You can actually use standard DVD+R or DVD-R and get HD DVD or Blu-ray compliant video that will playback on standalone players.

Listen to me Live Today

chrisl — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 14:40:00 GMT

Remember I’m live today on The Media Center Show with Ian Dixon at 1pm PDT. There will be a live video stream of Ian and the audio from both of us. In addition there is a chat room all at Live.TheDigitalLifestyle.com. You will need a free Ustream account if you want to join the chat. I hope to see everyone there!

Short Bits: $150 Extenders, Media Center Show

chrisl — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:58:00 GMT

Just a few reminders, Amazon is still selling Linksys Extenders at $100 off. Some are getting that the code has expired, but most others are not. If you are getting that it is expired, register for a new account and give it a shot. The DMA2100 is $150 after the discount and the DMA2200 is $200 (both have free shipping options). This is really a fantastic deal, and while you might not want to replace your Xbox 360 in your living room just yet the Linksys Extenders are perfect for the bedroom (my review of the DMA 2200 is here).

Also, remember that I will be live on The Media Center Show with Ian on Monday at 1pm PDT. I realized today that I’ve only got a slow DSL connection for my Spring Break vacation, so I’m hoping everything works with Skype. I did a test today and it seemed to be fine so fingers are crossed!

Listen to me Live on The Media Center Show

chrisl — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 19:57:00 GMT

Mark your calendars for next Monday, the 17^th at 1PM PDT because you will be able to catch a live edition of The Media Center Show with Ian Dixon with yours truly as his guest.

It will be live on Ustream.tv, and if you want to participate in the live chat to ask questions or comment then you are going to need to register for a free account (no account needed just to watch/ hear the stream).

Hope to see you there!

Short Bits: Plug-ins, Media Center Show, Prices

chrisl — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 15:24:00 GMT

Plug-in News/Reviews

Ian Dixon will have Ed Bott on The Media Center Show today live at 12pm PST. Click here for the live link.

Speaking of The Media Center Show, Pasquale DeMaio & Terry Walsh are on this week (pre-recorded) show.

Microsoft cut prices on some Vista SKUs which translates into no one is buying Vista at retail. More here.

Short Bits: Media Center Show, On10, PowerDVD, more

chrisl — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 21:40:00 GMT

Ian Dixon had Microsoft’s Steve Lindsay on the Media Center Show today talking about various including Windows Home Server, Extenders, Home automation and his new blog.

Some other stuff that I have not talked about, On10 has videos with S1Digital, Inteset, and Niveus Media. The Windows Mobile team is looking for feedback from users with Zune’s and Windows Mobile devices which is always good to see.

Missing Remote has some tips on integrating PowerDVD Ultra with Media Center for a better Blu-ray/HD DVD playback experience.

Lastly, Jeff Atwood has an interesting article on Tivoization and the GPL.

The Media Center Show Awards 2008

chrisl — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:52:00 GMT

Ian’s yearly Media Center Show Awards podcast has been posted, and while I wasn’t able to attend I want to thank everyone for voting for me for best enthusiast blog. Did I win? Download the show and fast forward to 52:37 to find out.

If the suspense is killing you and you must know now, I won again this year!! Thank you to everyone who voted and everyone else out their blogging.

Every year I say it wouldn’t be possible without all the other bloggers and readers and that stays true. Even more so, the Media Center community and awareness of Media Center has continued to grow over the past year. I’m interested to see what the landscape will look like next year.

Thanks to Ian for doing the show and everyone who voted. A little bit later this year I’m finally going to be back on The Media Center Show with Ian, so stay tuned.

S1Digital Prepping Windows Home Server & Custom Touchscreen

chrisl — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 15:22:00 GMT

S1Digital is launching a number of new products for 2008, starting with their newly designed website that looks great. On the hardware side, S1Digital will be launching two Windows Home Server’s and a 17 inch Media Center touchscreen. The new solutions are outlined in their new brochure (PDF) that lays out the S1 vision of the connected home using Media Center as the center piece.

While exact details have not been released on the new hardware, it appears they will have two flavors of S1 branded Windows Home Server’s. The first is a 1U rackmounted server, and the other is a smaller unit that looks to be based on Intel’s WHS platform.

In addition they will have a brand new 17 inch touchscreen with Media Center built in. Dubbed the TX Edition it also has built-in wireless and optional internal CableCARD. Imagine this in your kitchen given you access to HD content without the need for a remote. My mControl setup is begging for one already.

No prices or release dates yet, but it looks like S1 is ready to make a splash in 2008.

Hear more about the above hardware and more on this weeks Media Center Show with Ian Dixon and Paul Heitlinger.

Short Bits: Plug-ins, Media Center Show, Linksys Video

chrisl — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 21:42:00 GMT

Important: For anyone commenting, Community Server seems to randomly be moderating every single comment! Comment moderation is not turned on on my end, so I’ll have to see what is up. If you don’t see your comment it’s ok. It just needs to be approved by me.

Via Missing Remote a few new plug-ins that I haven’t covered, but a third party Netflix Watch Now Plug-in might be coming to Media Center. I’ve talked about this in the past, but Netflix hasn’t done anything officially yet.

In addition a plug-in called MCE Organizer interfaces with Movie Collector (I think it’s here) and even works with Ziotek Media Carousel’s. It’s an MCML plug-in and looks very cool.

Danny Mavromatis got himself a Linksys DMA2100 and will be posting a video review of it.

Ian Dixon has the NetGen Home (Life|ware) at CES and Extenders as the subject of The Media Center Show #141. Ian also had a post about the i-Mate Sideshow Photo Frame.

Vote in The Media Center Show Awards

chrisl — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:11:00 GMT

Ian Dixon reminds everyone that January 2^nd is the last day to vote for The Media Center Show Awards. The vote page is up, and just for voting you have a chance to win some great prizes like mControl v2 from Embedded Automation, Media Center Communicator from One Voice or a Vidabox Remote keyboard from Vidabox.

Vote here.

Short Bits: VC-1 SDK, TiVo Gadget, Awards

chrisl — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 21:40:00 GMT

Microsoft just released the VC-1 Encoder SDK - Professional is designed to provide file-based and/or real-time encoding capability to general content creation toolsets or dedicated encoding software applications.

Mike Swanson posted an updated version of his TiVo Gadget for Windows Vista (Via ActiveWin).

Don’t forget to vote in The Media Center Show Awards. I believe voting ends this month, so just a few more days to get your vote in.

Short Bits: Zune Tool, Media Center Show, Blockbuster

chrisl — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:10:00 GMT

Not sure if it would be helpful to users, but Microsoft just released a Zune Device Diagnostic Tool. According to Microsoft, the Zune Device Diagnostic Tool compiles data to help Product Support Services diagnose Zune USB and wireless sync connection problems.

New Media Center Show, #136 - Steven Hughes today. Don’t forget to vote in the The Media Center Show Awards!

Blockbuster Online is all buy dead now, they just raised their prices again! 3 DVD’s out at once (Unlimited per month) just went from $24.99 to $34.99. Netflix anyone? I bought a few Netflix gift certificates for holiday gifts, glad I went that way instead of Blockbuster.

I’ve got a few good posts lined up for before Christmas. CableCARD news as always, and DIRECTV (could it be?).